
Sern^on ^eliverecl before 
the. /\uyiliary^ Society op 

T3y "Baxter DlcklnsoTi. 




Book JliLiL 



Sir, /I 

SERMON, 



OELIVERED AT SPRINGFIELD, MASSo 



July 4th, 1829, 

BEFORE THE 

OF * * ** 







- % 



BY BAXTER DICKINSON, 

PASTOR OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN LONGMEADOW. 



PUBLWHBD BY REQUEST QV THE BOCIETV- 



SPRIJ^-eFIELD. 

PRINTED BY S. BOWIiE*' 

1889. 






iit^' 



^ SERMON. 



^ 



Heb. XIII. 16. But to do good, and to communicate, forget not ; for 
with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 

This inspired precept exhibits a prominent charac- 
teristic of our religion. It is a system that manifestly 
seeks both the present and future welfare of man. 
Embraced in faith and love, it can hardly fail to exert 
a purifying influence upon the heart and life. Not 
only has Christianity this direct tendency to reclaim 
from the love and practice of evil, and thus procure a 
permanent peace and glory for man ; by infusing its 
heavenly spirit into a given individual, it renders him 
a benefactor to others. In fulfilment of its claims, he 
cheerfully consecrates his powers in steady and vigor- 
ous action, to the service of God and his fellow-men. 
He yields habitually to the authority of that numer- 
ous class of divine precepts of which our text is a fair 
specimen. 

In our world, full of ignorance, crime, and suffering, 
there is scope for the efforts of the most enlarged be- 
nevolence. And it is matter of congratulation that a 
spirit of religious enterprise is among the distinctive 
features of the passing age. We are not surprised that 
such a spirit has been waked up ;— we are not surprised 
at the degree in which it pervades the Christian world ; 
we are not surprised at the power it exhibits in calling 
forth the energies of the community, with a promise 
o^ no other reward than the approbation of God and 



the luxury of doing good ;— we are not surprised, be- 
cause it is the exact spirit of the New Testament.— 
Our religion is a religion of love. It is a religion of 
action. To do good, and to communicate, forget not ; 
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 

The precept before us is of a general character, in- 
culcating a readiness for benevolent action in whatever 
form it may be demanded by the circumstances of 
mankind. And hence, smely, it cannot be deemed in- 
approi)riate as the foundation of a discourse on the 
present occasion. The object of consideration spe- 
cially before us is the case of the coloured population 
of our country. They are a degraded and afflicted 
multitude, in the bosom of a free, enlightened, and 
Christian land. For their benefit primarily a society 
was formed twelve years ago, which has steadily pur- 
sued its object under circumstances of peculiar embar- 
rassment, but with very encouraging effect. And the 
claims of that society on our support are to constitute 
the burden of this discourse. 

The " American Colonization Society" was formed 
with special reference to the free blacks of our coun- 
try. With the delicate subject of slavery it presumes 
not to interfere. And yet doubtless from the first it 
has cherished the hope of being in some way or other 
a medium of relief to the entire coloured population 
of the land. Such a hope is certainly both innocent 
and benevolent. And so long as the society adheres 
to the object announced in its Constitution, as it 
hitherto has done, the master can surely find no reas- 
onable cause of anxiety. And it is a gratifying 
circumstance that the society has from the first obtain- 
ed its most decided and efficient supi>ort from the 
slave-holding States. 



Tlie object of the Society is to aid the settlement 
of such free blacks, as are willing to eniiii;r^, on the 
western coast of Africa. They may have been born 
free, or emancipated from a state of bondage. It 
would gladly, however, gras]) at a still grander object- 
that of restoring to the land of their fathers the whole 
coloured race within our borders. Nor })robably will 
it be satisfied to rest from its labours, till this object, 
in all its magnitude, is accomplished. This then is 
the enterprise whose claims are now urged upon our 
consideration. 

Whenever an (.ojcct of this nature is presented, two 
questions arc naturally suggested— is the object im- 
portant ? — IS IT PRACTICABLE ? The importance of 
the enterprise before us is very generally conceded. — 
The Christian, the philanthropist, the patriot, are unit- 
ed in acknowledging and proclaiming its importance. 

Though the plans of the Society have been regard- 
ed as benevolent and patriotic, the project was at first 
looked ui)on by the country at large as visionaiy — even 
though it was simi)Iy to remove the free people of col- 
oiire. Hence for a number of years the Society ob- 
tained but a very limited support. And to the present 
time, it is believed that thousands decline a participa- 
tion in the enterprise from the palsying impression that 
it can never fully succeed. Toil, and treasure, and life 
may be expended ; and yet the dread evil will exist 
among us. Perhaps this spirit of incredulity pervades 
in a measure the community of which ourselves are a 
part. And to it probably may be ascribed in part the 
too general apathy that prevails on this subject. Could 
our eye glance forward upon the future operations of 
the Society, and fasten itself upon so splendid a result 
as that which it contemplates, the enterprise, it is be- 
lieved, would enjoy our warmest sympathies, and be 



the occasion of some of our boldest and most self-de- 
nying efforts. 

Can the enterprise, then, on which the American 
Colonization Society is embarked, be accomplished ? 
Can two hundred and fifty thousand free people of 
colour, and two millions of slaves be taken from the 
midst of us and planted down upon the soil of their 
fathers, to their own benefit and to the immense ben- 
fit of our country. 

In considering the practicability of the colonizing 
plan, several inquiries are naturally suggested. And 
the first is. Can blacks be induced to emigrate ? An- 
other is, Ca7i they be defended from the violence of the 
natives ? A third — Will the country to which they are 
carried furnish the means of their coinfortable subsist- 
ence? A fourth — Is the climate of the country suffi- 
ciently healthy to justify a settlement there ? And a 
fifth inquiry is. Has our country the resources demand- 
ed for the accomplishment of an object of this magni- 
tude f 

1 . Can blacks be induced to emigrate ? This inqui- 
ry is satisfactorily answered by a bare reference to the 
past operations of the Society, It has adopted no 
coercive measures ; and yet it has planted a flourishing 
Colony of fourteen hundred souls. Three hundred 
were transported the last year. Six hundred stood 
ready to embark at the close of the year. And at the 
same time a passage was sought for two hundred slaves. 
Had the Society the pecuniary means, these eight hun- 
dred might now have been pursuing the varied avoca- 
tions of an honest industry, free and happy, on the coast 
of Africa. 

It is not strange that the coloured race looked at the 
enterprise in its infancy with suspicion. How could 



they do otherwise with the record of their past wron^^ 
before them ? In proportion, however, as tlie plan 
and its success have become known, has tliai jealousy 
been removed. And why should they not readily fall 
in with the views of the Society which seeks their 
benefit ? On what, judging fi om the past, can they 
reasonably calculate in this land but degradation and 
suffermg ? And in the foreign land to which they are 
pointed, how cheering is the prospect that opens on 
their view. By the more intelligent among them the 
case is well understood, and there is rising a tide of 
sentiment in favour of emigration. Meetings are held, 
and addresses sent forth from their number which can- 
not fail to aid immensely the designs of the Society. 
It has never yet been an obstacle to its operations that 
emigrants could not be procured, and probably it never 
will be. As regards this point, then, the object contem- 
plated is most manifestly within the limits of practica- 
bility. 

2. Can a Colony on the coast of Africa be defended 
from the violence of the natives ? This inquiry, too, is 
satisfactorily answered by a bare reference to the past. 
A hostile spirit was manifested by the natives in the 
very infancy of the settlement of Liberia. The means 
of defence were of course very poor. The whole 
effective force of the Colony was but twenty-eight 
men and boys. And yet this little band, led by the 
discreet, courageous, and now lamented Ashmun— this 
little band, contending for liberty and life, withstood 
two successive attacks from the natives— the first by 
eight hundred, the second by fifteen hundred. And 
the result of that w^arfare, united with the well known 
timidity of the native African character, has led to the 
opinion, that a hundred well armed freemen, fighting 
for their liberty, and their children, and their homes, 



8 

may defend tlie Colony against all the hordes that can 
be mustered against them. And yet the Colony has 
at present a far better defence than that. Its military 
organization depends for its extent, discipline and 
strength, upon the public spirit of the people ; and still 
nearly every able bodied man has enrolled himself as a 
member of some uniformed and regularly trained corps. 
And the whole might be brought into actual service 
upon the shortest notice. The organization and disci- 
pline of this force are such as to admit of no appre- 
hensions of public danger. In proportion as the set- 
tlement enlarges, will its means of protection be ex- 
tended ; and an over-awing inliuence will be sent 
abroad through the neighbouring tribes. There is, 
then, no fearful hazard attending the enterprise. It 
is a groundless anxiety, that is occasioned by the num- 
bers and the jealousies of the native inhabitants. 

3. Will the country, selected as the home of our col- 
oured brethren, furnish the means of a comfortable sub- 
sistence ? " There remains not a doubt," said Mr. 
Ashmun the Colonial Agent, some months previous to 
his decease, " that the products of the Colony will, the 
ensuing year, equal its consumption in every article 
except rice. The results of the last year's industry 
have furnished most convincing proofs of the produc- 
tiveness of the soil." Of many articles a large surplus 
has been raised. The Coffee of the Colony has been 
sold in several of our own markets. A regular trade 
with the settlement has been commenced by some of 
our merchants. The exports of the Colony the last 
year are reported to have amounted to seventy or eighty 
thousand dollars. At the commencement of the year 
four small schooners had gone abroad upon the coasting 
trade under the flag of the Colony,— several others 
were about to sail, most of which had been built and 
fitted out by the Colonists. 



Scarcely any country affords a better variety of do- 
mestic animals and products than that which now in- 
vites to its bosom our coloured population. Among 
them are some of the choicest luxuries as well as 
conveniences of life. Nor is the productive terri- 
tory of very limited extent. It stretches along the 
coast and back into the interior,- so as to constitute a 
country adequate, and more than a'dequate to all the 
majestic purposes contemplated by the Colonizing So- 
ciety. Nor is there any serious difficulty in obtaining 
from the natives an exclusive title to the soil, and that 
too for a trivial price. 

There is held out to the view of the emigrant then 
every reasonable prospect of a comfortable home. — 
Agriculture, the mechanick arts, commerce, all pledge 
to him a full reward for his labour. He may be bles- 
sed with competency ; he may be blessed with wealth, 
I anticipate a little the future history of this enterprise, 
and visions of splendid improvement break on my view. 
I see the forest subdued ; gardens, orchards, and ex- 
tended fields enclosed ; I see cities rising one after an- 
other, embosoming a busy and thriving population. — 
Throughout an extended territory, the dwellings, the 
fields, the villages, the cities, the rivers, the harbours, 
all present the spectacle of a peaceful, thriving and 
happy population. 

But though the country may furnish the means of 
support — Is 

4. The climate sii^cienthj healthy to justify a set- 
tlement there ? Say the Managers of the Society in 
their last Report, " The general health of the Colony 
has through the year been uninterrupted ; and addition- 
al experience confirms the belief that there is nothing 
in the African climate to prevent the successful estab- 
lishment of colonies of coloured persons from the Uni- 

2 



10 

ted States, but that its influences are well adapted to 
the constitution of the coloured race. A slight in- 
disposition soon after their arrival may be expected ; 
but subsequently they enjoy more vigour and exemp- 
tion from disease than in countries without the tropics." 
This is the language of experiment. In one of the 
towns of the Colony, with the exception of two chil- 
dren, no person has yet died of fever. And almost all 
the mortality of the whole Colony since its settlement 
can be traced to some circumstance of manifest impru- 
dence. Care is unquestionably to be exercised in the 
selection of places for settlement. Care is to be exer- 
cised also in guarding against the common causes of 
disease in all tropical countries. And in the distribu- 
tion of emigrants among the several settlements, refer- 
ence is to be had to the latitude of our country 
from which they were taken. In a uniform adherence 
to such measures of precaution, it is believed that the 
whole mass of our coloured population may be trans- 
ported to the coast of Africa with entire safety. It is 
believed indeed to be the very climate for which they 
were formed by the God of nature, and which is ren- 
dered in his wisdom specially congenial to their peculiar 
physical constitution. And the residence of many of 
them among us is at the expense of comfort, health, 
and life, inasmuch as it is an obvious violation of the 
benevolent arrangements of Divine Providence. 

In considering the practicability of the colonizing 
enterprise, another inquiry is still presented. 

5. Has our country the resources demanded for the 
accomplishment of an object of such magnitude ? The 
transportation of more than two millions of souls to a 
remote country is indeed an object of formidable as- 
pect. It obviously cannot be accomplished at once. — 
But that the number can be gradually diminished. tilJ 



11 

utterly extinguished, may be made to appear, it is be- 
lieved, from a little arithmetical calculation. Let the 
object be to prevent by transportation the future in- 
crease of this people, and to reduci; annually but a lit- 
tle the original stock, and who can fail to perceive the 
importance and glory of the enterprise ? And can this 
object be achieved by such means as the country can 
readily bring to bear upon it ? 

^ The annual increase of the free blacks is estimated 
^to be two and a half per cent, and that of the slaves 
to be three per cent. The last census being taken as 
the data of calculation, the actual increase of the former 
would be annually six thousand, and of the latter forty- 
six thousand ; — or of both united fifty-two thousand. — 
The average expense of each emigrant, young and 
old, including passage money and subsistence, is found 
by the experience of the Society to be twenty dollars. 
It is supposed it may yet be considerably reduced. — 
The annual cost of transporting the contemplated 
number to the coast of Africa, then, would be one 
million and forty thousand dollars. Here is the tax to 
be levied upon the United States, for the purpose of 
opposing an effectual barrier to the growth of an evil 
which the united voice of the land is beginning loudly 
to deplore — an evil, which, if not arrested, must inev- 
itably lead to results on wiiich the eye looks with hor- 
ror. And can this tax he paid? Assessed upon the 
ten millions of white population equally, it W'ould be 
nine and a half cents for each — or dhowx. ffty cents for 
each family. And where is the family that cannot pay 
its full proportion ? Let the man of princely estate 
withhold the generous donation he might spaVe as VfeW 
as not, and who would still be burdened by the expense 
of this mighty enterprise ? Assessed upon the profes- 
sed disciples of the benevolent Saviour of all denom- 



12 

Illations, the tax ^^'ould be about one dollar annually 
for each. Let the church alone, then, assume the bur- 
den — the church, solemnly pledged for works of benev- 
olence — and who ^vill harbour the apprehension that 
she must be impoverished ? And what Christian, cal- 
culating soon to exchange all earthly possessions for 
the imperishable glories of the upper world, will clinch 
the dollar that might perpetuate the liberties of his 
country, contribute to rescue thousands from deep af- 
fliction, and shed the blessings of civilization and the: 
gospel over a continent ? 

Let such a tide of public sentiment in favour of the 
project be raised as to justify the General Government 
in assuming the pecuniary burden, and who honestly be- 
lieves that ai.iy of the great interests of the country 
would suffer ? Is a nation like this to be embarrassed 
by an annual appropriation of little more than a million 
of dollars to the cause of humanity ? — a nation that can 
extinguish in a year twelve millions of national debt, 
and at the same time prosecute with vigour its majestic 
plans of defence and of internal improvement ? — a 
nation, one of whose States can hazard six millions of 
dollars on the i)roject of opening a single canal ? — a 
nation, whose canvass whitens every sea, and proudly 
enters almost every harbour of the globe ? — a nation 
whose villages and cities are rising as by magic over a 
fertile territory of two millions of square miles ? — a 
nation destined within the compass of the passing cen- 
tury to embosom a white population of eighty millions ? 
With the past smiles of Divine Providence, our national 
debt will soon be annihilated. And from that glad 
hour let the government provide liberally for all its ne- 
cessary operations — let it push forward every wheel 
in its splendid machinery of political improvement, 
and then give to our cause but the surplus of its rev- 



13 

enuc ; and, as regards the expense of transportation, 
it will furnish the means of granting to every African 
exile among us a happy home in the land of his 
fathers within the compass of six years. — Let it 
bestow but half the amount of the expense of our 
last war ; and it would enable the Society to accomplish 
all at which its benevolence grasps. Let the commu- 
nity make for the object an annual offering equal to 
thai which it taxes itself for intoxicating liquors ; and it 
would enable the Society to purchase from their bon- 
dage at a fair price, the entire slave population of our 
country in five, or at most six years. And the offering 
would lay the axe at the root of the tree as regards 
the two deadliest evils in the land. 

Whether, then, the burden of this enterprise be sus- 
tained by the voluntary contributions of the community, 
or by the resources of the civil government, it cannot 
be the occasion of suffering to the nation. The money 
can be spared without seriously abridging individual 
comfort or national improvement. 

It has been said that the entire shipping of the 
country, both public and private,*would hardly be com- 
petent for an object of this magnitude. But careful 
calculation has proved, that one eighteenth of the mer- 
cantile shipping alone, entirely devoted to the enter- 
prise, is competent to carry it into complete consum- 
mation. And why might not our brilliant and grow ing 
navy aid to some extent the humane and patriotic 
cause ? If necessary, w^h}' might not the marine of 
other lands be chartered ? Strange indeed it is if ship- 
ping enough could be found half a century ago to re- 
duce hundreds of thousands of this race in a single 
year to a wretched vassalage, and in this age of aug- 
mented light, and wealth, and improvement in every 



14 

art, enough cannot be found for the single benevolent 
object before us ! 

But it may be said tliat the slaves are propertij ; and 
can be obtained only as they are purchased of the mas- 
ter. True, they are regarded as property; and the 
civil code recognizes the claim of the master. And 
what would be looked upon as a pecuniary equivalent 
for the whole must amount to an enormous sum. And 
yet who can doubt the ability of this rising nation to 
make the purchase ? And who can doubt that it might 
be the soundest policy to extinguish the master's claim 
throughout our territory at the price of six hundred 
millions of dollars ? I will not, however, do our slave- 
holding brethren the injustice to believe that this whole 
equivalent will be demanded. Facts prove abundantly 
that it will not. There is extensively a readiness to 
relinquish entirely this property, just so soon as it can 
be done with safety to the community, and with ad- 
vantage to the coloured race. 

The American Colonization Society would gladly 
afford the opportunity of gratifying this spirit of hu- 
manity ; but its means have hitherto been utterly .in- 
adequate. Of its emigrants the last year eighty-eight 
were manumitted slaves. At the close of the year a 
passage was sought for tivo hundred more. Two thou- 
sand could now be received from the single State of 
North Carolina. " I am perfectly astonished," says 
an Agent of the State Colonization Society of Ken- 
tucky, " at the ardour with which all men of all ranks 
enter into the plans of the Society. In going round 
to receive members, I was informed by many individu- 
als, that they were perfectly ready to surrender their 
negroes at any time the Society might be prepared to 
receive them.'- 



15^ -i* 

m 

Facts of this naturo onrouracn tlio hojie tliat'*th<' 
Society will never l)e under tlie njgcessity ol' i>urclias- 
iiijj; emigrants. If its operations arid its success are of j^ 
a nature to secure for it tlie coiindenee of tlie country, 
it will } et be hailed by thousands as a medium of bles- 
sings to themselves and to their coloured dependents ; 
it will lead to the " Joi)tion of Legislative measures in 
the States for emancipation ; it will give rise to one 
urgent appeal after another iVom all parts of the Union 
to the General Government in favour of its objects ; it 
will create such a public sentiment, that funds will be 
l)oured into its treasury by voluntary contribution and 
Legislative enactment, — and still, probably, till its 
work is comi)leted, it will be unable to meet the appli- 
cations that will crowd upon its attention. 

The American Society is already sustained by eleven 
State Auxiliaries. The Legislatures of eleven States 
have publicly expressed their api)robation of its plans ; 
and of these six are Slave States. By ten States have 
its objects been recommended to the patronage of the 
General Government ; and of these five are Slave 
States. And by the Legislature of one Slave State 
has an annual appropriation been made to further the 
objects of the Society. Let the benevolent pour their 
charities into its treasury. Let Congress make its 
generous appropriations. Let State Legislatures come 
to its aid wdth their more limited offerings ; — and the 
master will come forward with his slaves, and present 
them to the Society as a free-will offering. The sev- 
eral Slave States it is to be presumed, too, will prompt- 
ly adopt regulations for emancipation which shall cor- 
respond with the existing means of emigration. 

Thus have I glanced at the principal circumstances 
which affect the practicability of the Colonizing scheme. 



- 16 

Blacks can be induced to emigrate. A colony on the 
coast of Africa can be made secure against the violence, 
of the natives. The adopted country will afford the 
means of their comfortable subsistence. The climate 
of the country is such as fully to justify their settle- 
ment there. And this nation has all the resources re- 
quisite for the full and triumphant accomplishment of 
such an object. 

The scheme before the American public is not, then, 
the project of an enthusiast. In all its greatness and 
its grandeur it can be carried into execution. 

The Society can do nothing, however, without funds, 
and at present its dependence is upon the voluntary 
offerings of the eommimity. And to ourselves as well 
as others it now comes with its loud appeals. It ad- 
dresses itself to our generous feelings as men, to our 
sympathies as Christians, and to our patriotism as 
citizens of this extended and rising Republic. — 
Among us is a growing population of strangers. — 
They are manifestly in circumstances to awaken our 
kindest commisseration. In the bosom of a thriving 
people they are poor. In the bosom of an enlight- 
ened people they are ignorant. In the bosom of an 
independent people most of them are in slavery. In 
the note of exultation which to-day echoes through 
the land, two millions among us can feel no rational 
sympathy ! An asylum has been opened for them in 
the land of their fathers. Send them thither ; and they 
will find themselves to be at home. Freedom, and 
competency, and intelligence, and religion will bless 
their existence. The enterprise is one of unquestion- 
able benevolence. Scarcely another presents an ap- 
peal so touching to the sensibilities. This afflicted 
people have special and powerful claims on your sym- 
pathy. Rise to their relief. Restore them to their 



(iioper home. And they will forget all th*6ir past 
wrongs. And amid the hosannasi which shall celebrate 
theh' emancipation, they will do fidl justice to your 
benevolence. 

The American Colonization Society addresses itself 
I to our patriotism, as citizens of this growing Republic. 
The existence of such a population among us is a most 
manifest evil. And every 3^ear adds to its threatening 
aspect. They are more than a sixth of our population ! 
Their ratio of increase exceeds that of the whites. — 
They have all the lofty and immortal powers of man. 
And the time must arrive, when they will fearlessly 
claim the prerogatives of man. ^ They may do it in the 
spirit of revenge. They may do it in the spirit of 
desperation. And the result of such a mustering of 
their energies — who can look at it even in distant pros-- 
pect without horror ? Almost as numerous are they 
now, as our whole population when this nation stood 
forth for freedom in a contest with the mightiest power 
of the civilized world. And if nothing is done to 
arrest their increase, we shall have in twenty years 
four millions of slaves ; in forty years eight millions ; 
in sixty years sixteen millions, and a million of free 
blacks ; — seventeen millions of people ; seven millions 
more than our present white population ; — enough for 
a powerful empire ! And how can they be governed ? 
Who can foretell those, scenes of carnage and terror 
which our own children may witness, unless a season- 
able remedy be appAied ? The remedy is now within 
our reach. We c;an stop their increase ; we can di- 
minish their nurnber ; we can in thirty years entirely 
remove the r^xe ; and that without any sacrifice. We 
can plant thiem on a distant coast, where they will 
thrive, airj in sixty years become a powerful Republic. 
Who t)'ien is the patriot that can withhold the little 




cftanty i^ imperiously demaiided for the safety of his 
beloved Country. ^^ ^ -^g , - 
il^ The Society addrlBp itself to our sympathies as 
Christians. Its Colony is to be^a civilized and a Chris- 
tian Colony. It is destined to exert a mfghty influence 
on the neighboring tribes feenighted and besotted. It 
will be a direct medium of access to them, with those 
arts and sciencies which bless humanity — with that 
gospel which lias treasures of cpnsolatioft'for man as a 
creature of time, and which is his only adequate guide 
as a candidate for immortality. It may be a radiating 
point, from which the mingled lights of science and 
religion shall beam foith to cheer and elevate a conti- 
nent of a hundred r^ilfious. Thus has the object a 
most manifest and powerful bearing on the predicted 
event of our world's entire submission to the sceptre 
of Zion's King.* 

Who then will withhold the little treasure that is 
needed, when the offering would bless an injured peo- 
ple — his country — a continent — a world ? Dim must 
be the e5^e that does not perceive the majesty of the 
enterprise ; and dead to sensibility the heart that is not 
thrilled by the bare possibility of its triumph. Why, 
then, should it not electrify the wise, the rich, and the 
good throughout the land ? Such a national effort in 
behalf of degraded and distant millions would be an 
eternal diadem in our country's glory. Too long, dear 
brethren, have we been accustomed to exult in our 
priviliges, and to forget the multitudes less favored. — 
Fifty years have passed since to us were entrusted the 
ensigns of freedom to the whole earth. Meanwhile 
two generations of mankind have gone down to the 
dead ; and half the living are yet in bondage. And 
shall we go on, exulting in our free institutions, and 
make no mighty effort to emanci]iate, the world ? God 



19 

of heaven forbid it ! Every generous feeling forbid it ! 
Rather let us seize every opportunity for extending 
these blessings. Let us be followers of Him who, 
though he loas rich, for our sakes became poor. And 
when we go down to the gates of death, let it not be 
written to our eternal shame, that we have lived only 
to ourselves. And when, with the high and the low 
of every age and clime, we go up to meet the Judge 
in clouds, O may we hear from his gracious lips. In as 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least qf these 
my brethren^ ye have done it i^tq rne. 



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